Summary Box: Stocks rise as factor orders surge

QUIET END: Stocks edged higher Wednesday on a report that factory orders surged in July. The Dow Jones industrial average turned higher for the year. The Dow's four-day winning streak ended a tumultuous August that had the most 400-point swings in the history of the index.

VOLATILE AUGUST: The Dow, Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite index each had their worst August since 2001.

THE INDEXES: The Dow rose 53.58 points, or 0.5 percent, to 11,613.53. The S&P 500 rose 5.97, or 0.5 percent, to 1,218.89. The Nasdaq rose 3.35, or 0.1 percent, to 2,579.46.